The NFL is "helping to fund" EPL club Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium and has contributed US$12.8M to the project so far, according to sources cited by Dan Kilpatrick of ESPNFC.us. The initial payment, recorded in the club's financial results, will "go towards the tailoring" of the 61,000-seat stadium for the hosting of NFL games. Tottenham has agreed to a 10-year deal for the NFL to "host a minimum" of two games per year at the stadium, which is expected to open for the start of the '18-19 season. The NFL will also "pay the club a set fee every time it uses the venue." The new stadium will "include a retractable synthetic surface, set beneath the grass pitch, that will be used for NFL games." NFL Exec VP/Int'l Mark Waller, who is working with Tottenham Chair Daniel Levy on the project, has said that the NFL "hopes to have a permanent franchise in London" by '20 (ESPNFC.us, 4/21).